onionbagblog

This piece was written on request for the Summer edition of the Wivenhoe Society Newsletter.

Six months since first launching, the Wivenhoe Forum has continued to grow in both membership and useful online local dialogue. I launched the site on 1st January 2011, with the aim of putting it out there and seeing where the local community would take it.

We now have over two hundred registered members joining in the local Wivenhoe conversation, as well as a considerable number of lurkers - folk who read the forum on a daily basis yet haven’t joined up… yet!

It is still very early days in the history of the Wivenhoe Forum, but already it is finding its feet. Wivenhoe Town Council has turned to the Forum when promoting various civic matters. I am pleased that a number of prominent local Concillors use the forum and join in the many conversations.

For a sleepy town with a slow pace of life, news and information changes frequently online. The power of harnessing the internet at a hyperlocal level is to be able to connect folk in the community who may not otherwise come into contact with one another. Taking this conversation and co-operation offline and out into the real world is one of the aims that I had in mind when setting up the site.

Constructive conversation following the May Fair has proven to be the most useful conversation to date. The particular May Fair thread explored the way forward for the annual event, with over 3,000 unique page views to date.

But for all the major Wivenhoe news stories that are rightfully given a platform, what has pleased me most has been the minor local domestic matters where the Wivenhoe Forum has been able to help. Asking for a large ladder to be lent, or re-uniting lost cats - both of these have been success stories in the first six months, both separate incidents!

Local groups have been using the Wivenhoe Forum to further promote their fine work. A possible renaissance of the legendary Wivenhoe Arts Club is also being discussed online.

We have had local traders taking up the offer to post up details of their business for free to share within the local community. The Wivenhoe Forum positively supports the local economy and we are pleased whenever local traders take up the offer to plug their skills.

Please do have a look at the Wivenhoe Forum - it is as simple as accessing www.wivenhoeforum.co.uk. You don’t have to be a member to read the posts, but signing up will enable you to join the conversations.

The benefits will only continue to grow as hopefully more members participate. The greater the mix of Wivenhoe locals talking and sharing ideas online will only lead to more co-operation as to how to make Wivenhoe an even better place to live and work.

Thank you to all that have made the first six months such a success for the Wivenhoe Forum. We are a very welcoming community and are always keen to listen and share in new conversations.